Valentino

Artist: Weeping Tile
Label: Wea
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 706301992821
EAN: 0706301992821
ASIN: B00005ALVB

Release Date: 2001-02-16

Valentino

Related Categories:

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Tracks:

South of Me
Through Yr Radio
Unshaven
Judy G.
2"
I'm Late!
Old Perfume
I Repeat
Can't Get Off
Every Good Story
Chicken
Tom's Shoe Repair
Goin' Out
8 Guitars and a Broken Nose

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Cold Snap
Eepee
Cold Snap
You Were Here
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Customer Reviews:

Sarah's Earlier Stuff.......2007-03-08

A tribute to Sarah Harmers ability to play in many musical genre's. She is one-of-a-kind and will always be at the top of my music list. This album has a rock/alternative feel; watch out for the hidden track!

amazing..........2005-04-04

It's kind of sad when you pick up an album from a band that is no longer making new records. This was the case with Weeping Tile. Being a Queen's University alum, I got a taste of this band while in Kingston, Ontario, but never paid them much attention. I saw Sarah Harmer briefly performing from her Songs for Clem CD, but never put 2 and 2 together. I later got "You Were Here", her solo CD and her follow-up "All of Our Names" and just loved them. I checked out her bio to uncover her Weeping Tile and immediately scoured Amazon for Weeping Tile. I ordered all three CDs and love every one of them. It's kind of cool to be able to see where an artist comes from musically, and to know Sarah from her music now and to here her in Weeping Tile is a real treat. The total hi-fi sound, edgier vibe, and wild energy, offset at times with Sarah's quieter melodies make Valentino my favourite of the bunch. I wish the radios would pick up Weeping Tile now - it seems that their music would do better today than it did 10 years ago, which is kind of sad but a testament that great music never becomes too dated.

Master songcraft, diverse and timeless........2005-01-17

Valentino is the missing link between the rough, rocking energy of early Weeping Tile and the pensive, country-folk troubadour that is lead singer Sarah Harmer today.

Early Weeping Tile didn't betray much of Harmer's country-music roots -- which she would fully expose on the downright classic country of her next record, Songs for Clem. On the band's first record Cold Snap, Harmer's angular, sometimes punkish singing didn't exactly suggest any country influences. Valentino, however, begins to explore that aspect of her musicianship. Lead track "South of Me" immediately negotiates her musical dichotomy, with an instantly recognizable guitar hook and driving beats, but once the vocals kick in, you can hear traces of modern Harmer -- her singing is more soulful, fuller, with her now-trademark twang and vibrato emerging. She can still rock out beautifully, as on the grooving guitar-pop perfection of "Through Yr Radio", but "Judy G." and "Old Perfume" are downright classicist in their old-time, guitar-and-voice country approach, "Goin' Out" is a Gram Parsons-style song if there ever was one, and even the poppy "Every Good Story" has rockabilly and country tinges.

As if reminding herself not to stray too far into the softer side of her music, Harmer throws in a hidden track at the end of the record, a bizarre, hilarious hardcore punk (!) song with an indecipherable lead vocal (it sounds like it's singing "Big guitars and broken nose"!). Originally I'd thought it was solely the work of Weeping Tile guitarist Luther Wright; according to a 1997 article, it's written and sung by bassist Sticky. But as a signing-off for Valentino, it's perfect -- because as Sarah Harmer moves on with her musical career, she would increasingly distance herself from the rock side of her musical persona and focus on her country-folk influences. Personally, I still miss that rock and roll spark which had made Valentino and Cold Snap such exhilarating listens nearly 10 years after their release; the rock edge had complemented and augmented Harmer's music very well. Hopefully Harmer will re-incorporate this influence in her future music, but for the time being, the Weeping Tile records are still testament that when Harmer rocks, she rocks with the best of them.

Worth The Wait (And Yes, It Really is a Six-Star Recording!).......2001-08-17

Confident, in your face, stripped down and loud (and soft) Weeping Tile's "Valentino" is an electric folk-punk-rock-singer-songwriter tour-de-force. Warner Canada, which couldn't figure out how to market WT and dropped them after "Valentino", has re-issued it on the strength of sales of bandleader Sarah Harmer's brilliant solo debut, last year's "You Were Here." And I am so happy they did.

Recorded in the "live in the studio" fashion Harmer has come to favor, the band, (actually, Weeping Tile Mk III,) is able to let its hair down and straight-out rock to Harmer's songs. OK, it's not all hard-rockin' since Harmer's got a lot more range as a songwriter than to just churn out head-bangers, although she does produce a few here, including the urgent, swirling "Unshaven," and the straight-ahead I'm-havin'-a-blast-doing-this "I'm Late." Luther Wright's guitar, unburdened from the sonic density of WT's earlier "Cold Snap", is consistently up front in the mix and provides glorious, raw power. His solo on "Judy G." is really stunning. Harmer is as comfortable wailing along with Wright as she is strumming her own guitar and confiding to the mike on the emotionally devestating "Old Perfume".

Sonically, the recording is amazingly coherent-the band covers a broad range of material without ever stepping out of character or spoiling the mood. Harmer's songwriting is as strong as ever, with all of the tracks mentioned above being among my favorites. When confronted with such a towering recording as "Valentino' it's hard to figure out why Weeping Tile wasn't huge in its day. Except that it's hard to find the right-shaped marketing box to put them in. But this recording's brilliance can't be denied, and, four years later, "Valentino" shines again. Very highly recommended.

If I could give it 6 stars, I would..........2001-08-07

Valentino, Weeping Tile's third (and possibly final?) available recording is a must-have for any fan of the band or of Sarah Harmer's solo work. While much of it is 'rockier' than Sarah's recent CD "You Were Here", the talent is all there -- the vocals, the guitars, and of course, they lyrics, are all what you'd expect from these talented kids.

The disc is fairly balanced between fast and slow numbers, and the transitions seem very easy for the band. Between songs, we get to hear Sarah giggling at the beginning of "Every Good Story" and a false start before "Old Perfume". These things give the record a comfortable, intimate feel. I was very impressed that they decided to leave them in.

'Valentino' is a very fun yet powerful record. Though there are plenty of sing-along songs ("Chicken"; "Every Good Story"), there are still a few that might just make ya weepy ("Goin' Out"; "Judy G").

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Explorations-Columbia Years

A Portrait of Thelonious ~ Bud Powell

The Big Beat ~ Various Artists

Sunshine ~ Sunny Murray

Blues in Our Heart ~ David Ostwald

Sounds of the Mothership ~ David Parsons

Eshet Hayil: A Tribute to Jewish Women ~ David & the High Spirit

Australian Percussion ~ Michael Askill

Wine No Nioi ~ Off Course

Mon Idole ~ Sinclair